Hi, my ops are about the things I have enjoyed. Don't come looking to me for moaning :-)
Hi, my ops are about the things I have enjoyed. Don't come looking to me for moaning :-)
Member since:29.03.2003
Reviews:15
Members who trust:3
I wanted Mrs mfhome to get an MGF or something more "fun" but I wasn't too worried when she decided on a Ford Ka, I'd always liked the styling and her choice of the luxury model meant that I would have all the extras to play with too.
The Ka has been a popular little motor since 1996, ours is the Luxury model which we bought new on 51 plates in 2001. The car had great looks with its colour coded bumpers and mirrors, alloy wheels and metallic paint - I think these features are extra cost options on the other models. I don't suppose that they're necessary on this car as it looks good in standard trim. However, given a free choice between a car that is colour coded and one that is not I prefer the colour coded.
The car's motor mechanics are based on some of Fords older models; frankly I have found the performance disappointing. Mrs mfhome was disappointed too, when she first got the car, as she had previously had a rover 216GTi which was quite fast.
The Ka has a 1.3L fuel injected 8 valve engine. Yep, it is slow but it's
still plenty functional around town and will cruise very happily at 70 on the motorway, it will even pick up further to allow overtaking but it struggles to keep up with high speed traffic on motorways. If you are used to 16 valve engines then you'll be surprised by the lack of power at high revs, however, once you get used to this it can make for more relaxed driving. You don't have to "rev like mad" to get the power, what power it has is there all the time, shame that the power is so wimpy though.
The fuel economy helps ease this disappointment. I won't give an MPG as I honestly don't know, we get about 230 miles for £20.
The handling of this little car is great. I liken in to an old mini, not quite as good as the round on rails feeling that they have but certainly stable and predicable. I've never felt unsafe in this car or been scared by an unexpected skip of the rear wheels. It's quite a tall car so it does feel as though it might roll if pushed to far but I'd never go that far.
The car is manual transmission and has a good feeling 5 speed gear box. Gears are easy to select and well balanced, changing down for a hill (which you will need to do) is slick and smooth and the well matched gears help to match the road speed and engine speed.
The car has plenty of space for driver and front seat passenger. The seats are a little narrow for me but they are plenty comfortable with adjustment for reach and seat recline. .The driver's seat also has height adjustment. In the luxury model the seats are leather and the colour match with the trim is perfect, my other car is a Jag and the Ka Lux is actually like being in a baby jag. It doesn't have the wood trim etc but the plastic finish is very high quality. I am always pleased to see how well she is put together.
Rear passenger room is very limited. It will seat four people, probably even 5 but leg room is restricted. When I sit in the back I tend to sit with my legs across the car (I am 6ft). The leather seats are trimmed into seat shapes for two people. I think they'd be great for kids. The rear has 2 seat belts and 2 head rests.
Boot space is great, it easily handles shopping or travel luggage and the rear seats fold to make more space when needed.
Internal stowage is very limited. The cup holders don't work as they are just too small, they could have been a tiny bit bigger without any cost to space and this would have made them useful. There is a glove box (a dashboard tray with a pull out cover) that will hold… well, we use ours for gloves and thats about all it will take. Some rear storage for the car breakdown info and a CD storage case and that's about it.
The instrument panel info is speed, fuel, time and nothing much else - what else would you need? I sometimes think a temp gauge would be nice as I like to know the car has warmed up before I start to speed up my driving in the morning. However, the heater is a good indication of this in winter. I think the minimalist approach actually makes this car smarter. This is what the Ka is about.
In the luxury you get a good set of extras, power heated mirrors, leather trimmed steering wheel, CD Radio (Ford own design), 2 speakers with adequate performance, heated front screen - really excellent for removing ice in the morning or defogging quickly, air conditioning and remote central locking.
Our 2001 model has only 1 airbag, which I always find a bit hard to justify, yes the driver gets protection from an airbag but the passenger has to take their own chances. I hope we never have to use any airbags.
The car doesn't have ABS which is strange these days. I'm really not sure if I prefer it or not but I think I would feel better knowing it was there for a real emergency. I hope that I would remember to steer around the obstacle and break hard rather than panic.
The Ka has a 3 year warranty, which is good as we've had to use it. I am very pedantic about squeaks and things and we've had to have the brakes and some of the interior trim panels adjusted for squeaks. We also suffered from peeling of some of the window trims - Ford use a black plastic film to give some of the finish a smoked glass effect, it looks really good but you'll see most older cars have this peeling away. My dealer did not want to repair this but I insisted, I showed him all the other cars in his car park with the same issue and asked him how he thought it could not be seen as a design fault. He called Ford and they accepted the cost (About £5 + fitting). If you have a ford with this problem get it fixed under warranty, we put up with it for 12 months before I challenged the dealer, the car is a whole lot nicer to look at when it's fixed up.
Would we buy another Ka? Probably not, we like to try a different car each time we change. Mrs mfhome has already got her new car, a Daihatsu Copen and the Ka has been relegated to shopping and commuting duties for me.
We've sold the Ka now and we only have good memories of it.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
The KA they had is the Luxury, not the standard model.
chantelle2 22.04.2006 20:08
I felt that the review went on a bit considering i have to read alot of reviews to get a clear idea i dont really need to now that Mrs mfhome wanted a rover, but on the other hand there were some helpful points thanks
mark1961 17.09.2004 14:42
Great review. Have been looking for a small car which is trendy. Will have to take a closer look at this one. Thank you. Mark1961
G K Group approved Ford KA Hatchback 1.3I 3dr manual in Blue Print.The car has covered ... more
65,593 miles and has a manufacturer recommended combined MPG of 42.20.Additional Info: Insurance Group 2E. Emission Count 154g/Km, What Green Car Rating of 101.
Tiley Of Bristol approved Ford KA Hatchback 1.3I 3dr manual in Jeans.The car has covered ... more
44,000 miles and has a manufacturer recommended combined MPG of 42.20.Additional Info: Insurance Group 2E. Emission Count 154g/Km, What Green Car Rating of 101.
Broadbridge Heath Motor Co Ltd Peugeot approved Ford KA Hatchback 1.3I 3dr manual in ... more
COLORADO RED.The car has covered 19,067 miles and has a manufacturer recommended combined MPG of 42.20.Additional Info: Insurance Group 2E. Emission Count 154g/Km, Wha...
Bruce Motors Ltd Peugeot approved Ford KA Hatchback 1.3I Style 3dr manual in Aquarius.The ... more
car has covered 57,000 miles and has a manufacturer recommended combined MPG of 42.20.Additional Info: Insurance Group 2E. Emission Count 154g/Km, What Green Car ...
G K Group approved Ford KA Hatchback 1.3I (70) 3dr manual in Blue Print.The car has ... more
covered 43,358 miles and has a manufacturer recommended combined MPG of 45.60.Additional Info: Insurance Group 2. Emission Count 147g/Km, WhatGreen Car Rating of 39.
Advantages: Economical, attractive, good quality, reliability of a Ford Disadvantages: Poor quality cassette player, windscreen wipers need replacing often. No passenger airbag.
byrnehel 14.03.2001 ·
Read review
Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of Ford Ka 1.3i
exceptional by (2%):
very helpful by (88%):
helpful by (5%):
somewhat helpful by (5%):
